Dream Arc
by Mia Yagyu
Summary: The War with the Netherworld isn't over! Unexpected visitors whose fates seemed to intertwined with the boys come to help them defeat yet another enemy from the Netherworld and save the world once again.
1. Prologue

Legendary Samurai Troopers: Dream Arc – Prologue

(Originally _In a Dream_)

By: Mia Yagyu

Disclaimers and Notes on Chapter 1

~*~

'_Looking on everything we went through, I don't regret any of it. I will always keep all the memories we shared together like all the battles that we fought side-by-side, all the good and the bad times, and all the moments we spent growing closer together…._

'_That is why I must do this. I have to protect that fiery passion in your heart. You must understand that the one true desire in my heart is to see you happy and well. A smile from you was all it took to grab my attention, now it is the only thing that will make what I am about to do worth it…._

'_Please, have faith in me. I will put an end to this madness once and for all so you and the others will never have to suffer ever again. You have talked before on how nice it would be to be able to live a normal life after Arago, and I want you to live that life. I hate seeing a tired and worn expression on your face. Hopefully, when you wake up, you will never have to wear that expression anymore…._

'_Just remember one thing, my beloved, I love you. When this battle is over, I'll always be right in your heart….'_

~*~End Prologue~*~


	2. Chapter 1

Legendary Armor Samurai Trooper: Dream Arc

Chapter 1

By: Mia Yagyu

Disclaimer: Don't own the boys or any of the other characters that originally aired on Samurai Troopers. I do own the concept of all the other characters, except Mariko (she belongs to Summoner Hirelena)

Warnings: Mild Language

A/N: This is in the Samurai Trooper world, not Ronin Warriors. This story is a remake of _In a Dream, _originally posted by me.

~*~

Spring….

Most referred to it as a time where love blossomed, others believed that it was a time for motivation; the rest however, took it as a time for a peace and relaxation. Since the sakura trees were in full bloom, it was a common spot to find high school students skipping, finding a place away from the chaos inside the four walls.

"Mou…Alana! Are you here again?!"

Well, that was at least one student's point of view, until her friend woke her up. The afternoon was shining almost directly into the girl's face, causing her to cup her hand around her brown eyes to block it out. But, thanks to her friend's silver colored hair, the effort was pretty much futile, "Your hair is too damn shiny, Mari!" The girl groaned before she grabbed a handful of fallen blossoms and threw them at the other girl, "Go away!"

The other girl, Camui Mariko – an amateur DJ who was a favorite at a lot of the local clubs, furrowed her eyebrows together as she batted the thrown blossoms away from her, "Thank you! I take that as a compliment!" She laughed, "And no, I won't go away. Kusanagi-sensei is going to kill you if he finds you over here instead of in his class, Morimiea Alana-chan," Mariko stated as she reached out her hand to the girl on the ground.

Alana glared at her friend, crossing her arms over her chest, "I don't really care what Kusanagi-sensei does. I can't stand his class," She protested as she threw her nose up in the air in mock defiance. Alana knew that she needed Kusanagi-sensei's class to pass on towards graduation; it was just so incredibly boring. But, before Alana could protest any more, she was forcefully pulled to her feet by her friend, her long blonde hair falling out of its ponytail. Alana glared at Mariko as she pulled her hair back again.

"Well, you can apologize to him after lunch. Right now, Haven and the others are waiting for us in our usual outdoor spot," Mariko pointed out, "Unless you think that Jisa-"

Alana snorted, "He can kiss my ass. I haven't heard from him since he transferred schools a few months ago," There was a hint of bitterness to her voice, but Alana did her best to disguise it, "So, what's stopping me from doing a bit of 'watching' with my friends?" Plus, there was particular prey she wanted to see more than anything. Even though Alana did not know him personally, just his presence seemed to be a comfort - for some odd reason. She grabbed her bag and walked passed to her friend, who looked at her wearily, "What?! Let's just go!"

Mariko shook her head, her shoulder-length silver pigtails dancing around her head, and followed her friend. Alana did not have a good 'poker face' when it came to her feelings. Mariko knew that Alana was hurt over her previous boyfriend's lack of communication, but Mariko also knew that Alana was dealing with it in her own stubborn ways.

"Look what the silver cat drug in!"

"It's about time…"

Mariko and Alana looked over to see two girls sitting on a bench on the other side of the front of the school. Alana clicked her tongue and ran over to the girls, burying her knuckles in each of their shoulders, "Nice to see you too, Tokiji Sora and Yoshidani Haven!" She responded back, setting down next to them on the concrete edge of the floral bed, "Where's Yolei?"

One would not believe that Yoshidani Haven was a top kendo competitor in the district by just looking at her. Her long raven colored hair fell down her back in layers, framing her face and accenting her emerald colored eyes, "She had an emergency meet with the gourmet club," Haven responded after clicking her tongue and rubbing her shoulder.

"Yea, a member dropped out of their competition for health reasons, so the club is scrambling to cover for him," Tokiji Sora, a light brown haired girl that happened to be a high-ranking kyūdōka at her dojo, responded before lightly punching Alana back.

Alana laughed before opening her small bento, "Well, we'll just have to tell her about all the fun that she missed," She remarked, shoving a piece of food in her mouth.

"Oooh, and the eyecandy…" Mariko pointed out as her eyes drifted to a group of guys that had just walked out of the front of the school. Alana and the other girls stopped as they watched the group of five boys that walked out of the school. The boy with dark black hair and tiger-ish blue eyes caught Alana's dark brown eyes. In that split second, his eyes seemed as if they could see right through to her soul. But, as he quickly turned away from her, something round fell out of his pocket, unnoticed. Alana quickly got up, and grabbed it.

It was a round glass-like ball, but there was some energy that seemed to entrance Alana as she continued to stare at it. Then she remembered that she kept a similar ball in the small pocket in her skirt. It was another thing that seemingly gave her comfort. This had to be just as precious to him as the one Alana held was to her. Alana reluctantly tore her eyes away from it and walked up behind the group of boys, "Excuse me," She quietly approached the black haired boy; almost scared they would see and begin to laugh at her nervousness, "You dropped this," She held out the small glass ball to him.

"Good going, Ryo!" The heavier set boy teased, nudging the black haired boy.

Alana watched as the black haired boy's blue eyes widen before nodding, "Yes," He responded, a small smile playing on his lips as the glass ball dropped back into his hand, "Thank you, that means a lot," He nodded again.

The boy's smile was contagious; Alana soon found herself smiling, even though she felt the intense stares from the blonde and the blue haired boys standing to the left of the black haired boy in front of her, "You know, the weird thing is," as Alana reached in her pocket to pull out her glass ball, she felt the whole atmosphere around her become intense, even the blue eyes of the boy in front of her held a watchful glance. Alana ignored it and pulled out the little purple glass ball in her pocket, "I have one just like it. I thought it was rare keepsake though."

All five of their eyes widened as they stood there shocked, "Where did you get that from, miss, if I may ask?" The sandy brown haired boy asked, walking over to her.

Alana turned her head to that she could see Mariko's amber eyes death glaring at her, which was all she needed to regain her composure before responding back to the boy, "Mori Shin, is it?" Alana asked, turning back to look at the boy just to see him nod, "I'm actually not sure. I had a really restless night of sleep, I kept dreaming of things from a distant past. When I woke up the next morning, this was sitting next to my bed," She recalled, putting a finger to her lips, "I thought it was just because I was up late doing work for my feudal history class, but I kept having similar dreams the rest of the month."

"How long has it been since then?"The blonde boy asked her.

Alana paused, "About three months? The tips of my fingers have also gotten ridiculously cold since I've gotten the ball, but the nurse says I'm crazy," She admitted, rubbing the back of her head, "Wouldn't surprise me though if I am," She quietly admitted.

"Morimiea Alana, was it?" The black haired boy stepped forward, a smile lighting his face. Alana's brown eyes widened as a faint blush painted her face. She nodded, which encouraged him to lightly bow, "I'm Sanada Ryo. Can you actually do me a favor?"

Alana's hands wrapped around the glass ball in her hands and pulled it to her chest, "I'm not giving it to you. It's been a source of comfort for me," She responded, her brown eyes narrowed, as she took a step back.

Mori-kun laughed, putting a hand on Ryo's shoulder, "You have to excuse him, Morimiea-san, words aren't Ryo's specialty. What he wants know is if you would be willing to stop by our place, right outside of Tokyo. Our landlady, Yagyu Nastè, knows a lot about these types of orbs. She could probably give you some answers about yours?" He reassured her, "Right, Ryo?" Mori-kun nudged Sanada-kun.

Alana relaxed a bit, her eyes drifting to the boys, then to Sanada-kun, and then back to Mori-kun. She had been curious of why it came into existence just recently, but she wondered if it would lose its ability to comfort her if she dove into its mystery. The blonde girl looked back up at Sanada-kun, who looked like a wounded tiger than he did an embarrassed boy, then gave a slight nod, "Yes, I think I would like to know."

While this ordeal was going on, the remaining three girls watched with curiosity. Mariko fought to go over to Alana, but Sora and Haven strongly urged her not to, "Alana will tell us when she comes back," Haven quietly responded as she sipped her tea, but watched the scene from the corner of her eye. She had seen the blonde boy before in her dojo. His name was Date Seiji, and he was rumored to be a direct descendant of Date Masamune. He always held a mysterious air to him and would hardly let anyone minus the other four guys from that group near him. There was something about that group of boys that made them different from the other guys. Haven also failed to tell Alana that she held a similar glass ball, except it was in more of a heart shape than a round shape, in her school bag.

Mariko watched Alana laugh with the boys before she waved goodbye to them, shoved the object back in her pocket, and head back over to the girls. Mariko's eyes watched the boys behind her, who were all picking on the black haired boy, but her eyes drifted over to the sandy haired boy. He was too adorable to take her eyes off of.

"His name is Mori Shin-kun," Alana stated as she sat down and leaned over to whisper into the silver haired girl's ear, causing Mariko to jump and push the blonde girl away. Alana grinned as she sat back down and began eating from her bento again.

Mariko scowled, her face turning a bright shade of pink, "I...I knew that!" She stuttered, looking down at her bento, "I'm the one who told his name in the first place! You knew that too, Morimiea Alana-chan! That's why you looked over at me when he was talking to you….!" She yelled at Alana before shoving food into her mouth, keeping her from talking and possibly incriminating herself more.

"What did they want?" Sora asked Alana the long awaited question amongst the girls.

Alana blinked, "Oh, they were curious about my reaction to that glass ball, and they asked me to stop by their place tomorrow after school," She simply stated as she finished up her bento.

"You're what?!" Mariko asked after swallowing her food, "We're so coming along!" She told the blonde girl, grabbing her hands.

Alana's eyes widened as Sora and Haven nodded in agreement, "Mariko's right. We're going with you, Alana. We can't leave you by yourself in a room with five strange guys," Haven pointed out, setting her utensils on her box.

"While I appreciate this, guys, you seriously don't have to," Alana tried to reassure them, waving her hands. If something was about to happen, she didn't want her friends hurt or anything. Plus, Alana wanted to find this out on her own. But, the orb still weighed on Alana's mind. What about it had made the boys become so intense over it? She spun a chopstick in between her fingers, deep in thought. Finally the bell rang, ending the lunch period. The girls waved goodbye to each other and went their ways, Mariko dragging Alana to Kusanagi-sensei's class. Alana looked over her shoulder, her eyes catching Sanada-kun's, before she was pulled even harder towards the school.

Ryo chuckled to himself as the guys strolled back into the building. His hand lightly brushed the precious orb in his pocket. It was a good possibility that Morimiea-san's destiny that would be intertwined with theirs in the near future. But, why?

"So, what do you think of Morimiea's orb?" Toma asked, breaking the awkward silence that surrounded the group.

Seiji shook his head, "I'm not sure what to think," He admitted, looking over at the other three and then back to Toma, "It's weird how it has just randomly shown up. Why didn't it show up during the war a couple years ago?"

"I'm curious on that too. But, the weird thing is, remember how Morimiea-san said that the nurse said that she was crazy because her fingers were always cold?" Shin asked the others, holding his chin in his hand.

Toma nodded, "Did you see how blue the tips of her fingers really were? There is something spiritually up with that girl," He pointed out, stretching his arms behind his head, his cornflower blue eyes glancing up at the sky.

"Yea, and every time she spoke, you could see her breath, even though it's late spring!" Shu remarked, his eyes wide as he tried to demonstrate, "But, I think Morimiea-san has the hotts for Ryo, what do you think, Shin?" He instigated, nudging the sandy brown haired boy next to him.

A small smile played on Ryo's lips. He had caught Morimiea-san's eyes quite a lot since these past few months, and for a split second, he could almost swear that every time he met eyes with her, he swore he could see a vulnerability that not many others could see. Could she also feel the same? Ryo mentally shook his head, putting that question out of his mind. They would have to leave the figuring everything out part to Nastè.

~*~End Chapter 1~*~


	3. Chapter 2

Legendary Armor Samurai Trooper: Dream Arc

Chapter 2

By: Mia Yagyu

Disclaimer: Don't own the boys or any of the other characters that originally aired on Samurai Troopers. I do own the concept of all the other characters, except Mariko (she belongs to Summoner Hirelena)

Warnings: Mild Language

A/N: This is in the Samurai Trooper world, not Ronin Warriors. This story is a remake of _In a Dream, _originally posted by me.

"Morimiea-san!"

Alana jumped in her seat, breaking her daydream. She had not been able to focus on anything during the day due to the events that happened during lunch. Several different things had been racing through her mind and she had somehow grabbed the orb out of her purse without thinking, keeping it within her grasp. Alana almost dropped it when Kusanagi-sensei called her out, her fingers quickly wrapping tighter around it to keep it from dropping, "Y-Yes sir?" She stuttered, sending a wave of snickers through the class.

Kusanagi-sensei looked like a typical teacher. He was tall, shaggy brown hair, and square framed glasses. Even though he wore a boring suit, he still held a very intimidating presence. A very thin eyebrow above those square framed glasses twitched, "I would like for you to read the poem."

"Uh..." Alana looked back down at her textbook, but the words became blurry. She shook her head, "Is it _Firefly in the Garden_?"

Kusanagi-sensei clicked his tongue and turned his back on her, "If you were paying attention, Morimiea-san, you would be on the correct page. Now, please read the poem we have been discussing for the past half hour."

Alana looked over to see Mariko, who sat two seats over, pointing to the poem, _The Oft-Repeated Dream._ Alana slipped the orb in her pocket, flipped to the page and rose to her feet:

"_She had no saying dark enough__  
__For the dark pine that kept__  
__Forever trying the window latch__  
__Of the room where they slept.___

_The tireless but ineffectual hands__  
__That with every futile pass__  
__Made the great tree seem as a little__bird__  
__Before the mystery of glass!___

_It never had been inside the room,__  
__And only one of the two__  
__Was afraid in an oft-repeated dream__  
__Of what the tree might do._"*

Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit Alana, '…_Was afraid in an oft-repeated dream…_' She gripped the edge of her desk, trying to stand up while her knees threatened to collapse. Two hands quickly gripped her shoulders, and a flash of silver shined in her vision, "Mariko," Alana breathed before her knees finally buckled and she lost consciousness.

Mariko had been following along with Alana's voice, but when she noticed Alana's voice seem to waver, she looked down to notice the slight purple glow in the pocket of her skirt. When Mariko looked up, Alana swayed and she had a death grip on the desk. The silver haired DJ jumped up from her desk and reached her blonde friend just in time before she hit the floor, "Alana," She shook her shoulders, "Alana!" Their classmates stood still, looking at each other with unsure glances. Mariko grumbled, "Someone go and get the nurse!" Mariko called out, looking around the class until someone finally left the classroom.

Alana's temperature was quickly dropping and her breathing was slow and shallow. Mariko wrapped her arms around Alana, hoping that the warmth would keep her friend alive. Then a thought popped into her head, "Someone go get Mori Shin from class 3-A," She shouted.

"But, why him?"

"Don't question it, just do it!" Mariko demanded as another set of footsteps bolted out of the room. If anyone would know how to handle this, somehow Mariko figured that Mori-kun or one of his friends would know. Her mind went back to Alana, whose body had relaxed against hers, laying almost creepily still. She shook Alana, "Come on, 'Lana. You can't quit now." What had been in that poem that would have done this to her? Mariko reflected on the poem, and then realized the line that started all of this, "…_Was afraid in an oft-repeated dream…_" She repeated, her mind trying to wrap itself around that phrase. A shiver wracked through Alana's body, "Is it a dream?" Mariko whispered, tightening her hold on Alana.

Mariko was so lost in thought that she did not hear anybody come back until a gentle hand placed itself on her arm. She looked up to see Mori-kun, his blonde friend, and his dark haired friend in front of her, "It's okay, you can let her go, Camui-san," Mori-kun gave her a small smile. Mariko nodded, letting her grasp release on Alana. The black haired friend leaned in and picked Alana up, her head resting on his shoulder. Mori-kun looked over at Mariko, "We would like for you to come too, Camui-san." Mariko nodded and quietly followed as the group of them left the room.

… _An oft-repeated dream…._

Alana woke up in the middle of a white void, "Am I dead?" She questioned as she slowly rose to her feet. Where was she? There was nothing but white fields and a gray sky surrounding her. Slowly, Alana began walking, unsure of where she was going; her feet seemed to have a mind of their own. As she continued on, she encountered several armored samurai, their bodies frozen in time. Questions continued to form in her mind as she passed these frozen warriors.

Suddenly, Alana forced herself to stop. Five samurai stood in front of her, their various colored armors glistening through the ice that surrounded them. She sucked in air when she began recognizing the faces inside of those armors. Alana walked over to the red armor, putting her hand on the ice, "What happened here?"

"This is what you can be capable of."

Alana turned around to see a woman, clothed in a long white dress with an elegant purple armor waistband wrapped sitting right above her hips along with matching shoulder armor. She held a long scythe in her right hand, two swords belted sitting on her hip on the right side, and a purple orb was glowing in her left hand. The woman had long blonde hair, pale skin, and piercing amber eyes. Alana stepped back, keeping her guard up and taking a fighter's stance against her, "Who are you? And what did you mean by that?"

A smile graced the woman's mouth, "I am the guardian of the Inferno armor."

"Inferno Armor?"

That haunting smile remained on the woman's face, "You will learn more as long as you stay around these five," She motioned over towards the frozen five warriors, "But, remember, stay on their side. Fight on the side of justice and peace," Her hand reached out, and before Alana could react, she broke through the girl's guard, placing that pale hand on Alana's shoulder, "I am you. Just believe in your heart."

Mariko watched from a distance as a brunette woman hovered over her friend who was laying on a cot in the middle of a living room. She was also trying not to pay attention to the fact the Mori-kun was standing next to her. If Mariko made herself more aware of that fact, she feared her heart would pound louder than the bass on her speakers. There were several of questions she wanted to ask, but something told Mariko to just remain quiet and listen. She looked over towards the black haired boy, who was standing right beside the brunette woman, his light blue eyes focused on Alana. A smirk formed on Mariko's lips when she recognized that look, _Lucky Girl…_

But, Mariko was thrown from her thoughts when a hand lightly touched her shoulder. She fought the blush that wanted to form on her face when she realized that hand belonged to Mori-kun. He smiled at her, quickly melting her resolve to keep her composure, "Can I talk to you on the balcony, Camui-san?" He asked, his voice soft.

Mariko thought she was going to faint, but she resisted the urge and returned the smile, "Sure," She responded before turning to the black haired boy, "Can you let me know if Alana wakes up?" Her question was met with a quick nod from the boy. Satisfied, Mariko turned back around and followed Mori-kun out onto the balcony.

When she walked out, Mori-kun slid the glass door shut behind her. Mariko's heart picked up speed, her curiosity rising. Why had he wanted her to come out here? Did he suspect her of something? Or was he going to confess his quiet feelings for her? That thought alone sent made her heart beat even faster. But, it quickly dropped when she saw the intense look on her face. Something told her that confessing undying and passionate feelings was not his intention.

"Can you tell me something, Camui-san?" Mori-kun began, his blue eyes looking square into her golden eyes, "I need to know what exactly happened with Morimiea-san today."

Mariko stood there for a moment, unable to break the penetrating gaze from Mori-kun. When she was able to, she broke the stare and shook her head, her silver pigtails dancing around her head, "I honestly don't know. One second, Alana was reading a poem in English Literature, the next she was falling to the floor. I caught her before she could hurt herself," Did she dare tell him of the purple glow from that orb? Especially since she had one of those orbs herself.

She noticed Mori-kun eyeing her, almost like he could read that she was keeping a secret, "Is there something bothering you, Camui-san?"

Mariko let out a sigh. Telling him could turn him away from her. He would probably dismiss her as a weirdo; but for some reason, she felt the urge to tell him, "A couple of years ago, my heart felt like it was going to burst, dreams of samurai from the feudal era attacking me constantly were always haunting my dreams. During that time, Sora, Haven, Yolei, Alana, and I went overseas on a vacation, but due to the complications, we could not get back until later," Here was the worst part, "Once we were able to get back, we were immediately kidnapped into the darkness. Those same samurai from my dreams had somehow realized that we had something unique about us; they captured and brutally tortured all of us. But, as far as I know, only Haven and I remember what happened. The other girls seemed to have forgotten," She looked over at Mori-kun, who now was leaning on his elbows that were rested against the railing. Mariko swallowed hard, the knot of nervousness forming in the pit of her stomach. She lightly laughed, "I'm crazy, aren't I?"

To her surprise, Mori-kun shook his head, "Not in the least bit," He reached in his pocket to pull out a small orb. Mariko's eyes widened as the sun shone through the orb, the kanji of truth reflecting from the orb onto the balcony. He looked back at her before it hit her that she had similar orb in her own bag. Mariko pulled out a pouch in her bag and unwrapped the orb that was hidden inside of it. It was glowing with a brilliant pale blue light, the same kanji showing through. She looked up to see Mori-kun's eyes wide, "Where did you get that?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Mariko shrugged, "It appeared on my vanity one morning and it seemed to emanate some sort of strange aura, so I kept it with me at all times," Then she remembered something that made her shudder, "One time, I was walking by the Tokyo docks, and a purse snatcher grabbed my bag with this in it. The water seemed to come alive and grab this guy, dragging him underwater. The bag washed up a few minutes later and nothing was missing."

Mori-kun listened to her story, nodding, "The orb was protecting itself. Tell me something, Camui-san-"

"Please, call me Mariko. 'Camui-san' makes me feel old," Mariko interrupted, lightly laughing.

He joined in with her laughter, the mood seemed to lighten, "Alright, Mariko-san, have you tried pulling the power out from the orb?" Mori-kun asked her, walking over to her. Mariko shook her head, not really knowing how to answer the question. This was not how she pictured things playing out between them and she was not prepared for it. Honestly, the orb scared her; it seemed to hold a power equal to those old samurai that captured her and her friends.

Mori-kun put his hand on hers, covering the orb. The action caught Mariko off guard and her face turned a bright red, "I don't understand what's going on, but I feel like you and Morimiea-san are going to be highly influential in battling whatever is to come," He told her, "I need to talk to Naste and the other guys about this," He began to turn away from her.

Her heart dropped and she reacted by putting her other hand on top of his. Mori-kun stopped, looking back at Mariko, shocked to see tears streaming out of her eyes, "Please don't tell them all of that. I…" She trailed off, shaking her head, "I haven't told anyone else besides Haven those things before telling you, Mori-kun."

A smile formed on his lips, as he reached over and wiped the tears streaming from her right eye away, "I will leave that up to you then, Mariko-san. But, on one condition," Mori-kun held up his forefinger. Mariko sniffed, nodding. He wiped the tears falling from her other eye, "Call me Shin," He winked, handing her a handkerchief.

Mariko's eyes widened, letting go of his hand and accepting the handkerchief with a nod. He turned to walk away from her, about to open the door, "Oh wait, Shin-kun," She cried out, remembering something, "There was a purple glow coming from Alana's pocket right before she passed out."

Shin nodded, "Thank you, Mariko-san," He responded, pulling back the door. Shin stepped back and let Mariko enter back in first.

"Sheesh Shin, what did you do? I never expected you to make a girl cry!" The purple haired boy stated, putting his hands on his hips.

Mariko shook her head, "Shin-kun did nothing wrong," She responded to the other boy. Then her eyes drifted to her friend, still lying on the cot. The sound of bickering in the background rose in the background, but Mariko ended up tuning it out. Her eyes remained locked on Alana, seemingly becoming entranced. Something in her latched onto her best friend and it was just a matter of time before Mariko found that she could not move.

When Shin had realized that Mariko had not moved, he quickly moved over towards her. But, as he put his hands on her shoulders, an electric shock swept over the silver haired girl. He recognized the fear that lit her golden eyes when they moved over to look at him. Suddenly, a pale blue light and then a wall of water surrounded her. When the water evaporated, it revealed that Mariko was gone. Everyone in the room stood still, none of them knowing exactly what had just happened. Shin looked over at Alana and it was then that he remembered Mariko's recollection of the war, "We need to get to Morimiea-san's friends – Yoshidani-san, Jouji-san, and Tokiji -san."

Shu tilted his head, giving Shin a look of confusion, "How are those three involved?"

"Don't ask questions right now," Shin growled, determined to keep his promise to Mariko, "I think that if we don't hurry, something's out of our control is going to happen."

Just then, a loud, bass heavy ringtone cut through the air. All eyes went to Mariko's bag and then drifted over to Nastè. She clicked her tongue in agitation and walked over to reach into Mariko's bag. When she found the phone, Nastè gasped, "It's Jouji-san," She mouthed before answering the phone, "Hello?"

A long pause, "Is this Camui-san? If it is, there has been major trouble. Jouji-san has disappeared, and we've heard that Yoshidani-san and Tokiji-san have also disappeared from their practices. Do you know what's going on, Camui-san?"

"Well," Nastè started, collecting her thoughts, "We're trying to get to the bottom of this. Can you tell me what happened before Jouji-san disappeared?"

Another long pause followed by some chattering in the background, "You're not Camui-san, are you?"

"No, I'm not. I'm actually part of a team that's working on saving Jouji-san and everyone else," Nastè supplied, "The quicker you tell me what happened, the faster I can find them."

The person at the other end of the phone let out a long sigh, "We were cooking, perfecting a recipe for the major cooking tournament coming up next week, when all of a sudden, a bright orange light radiated through the room followed by the loud clang of Jouji-san's pan hitting the ground startled all of us," Someone interrupted the person at the other end of the phone, "Apparently, similar things happened to Yoshidani-san and Tokiji-san."

Shin's hands clenched by his sides; he was unable to hide his impatience any longer and wanted to go find Mariko. He was becoming worried that something would happen to her, "I'm going," He simply said before turning around and walking towards the balcony.

Shu started towards Shin, calling after him, but was blocked by Ryo's outstretched arm, "Shin knows something that we don't. I think Camui-san revealed something to him that he hasn't told us yet," He remarked, watching as Shin jumped over the balcony.

Toma sighed, "Let's follow him. He might end up taking us towards the other girls. Ryo…"

"I'll stay here," Ryo nodded, dropping his arm so Shu could walk past him. He wished he could follow them as he watched as they jumped off the side of the balcony. When he back down at Alana, he saw that her body was wrapped in a white glow. Without thinking about it, Ryo wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close to him, "I'm not sure what's going on, but I have a feeling you know. If you disappear, we'll never find your friends."

As soon as Shin's feet hit the ground, he ran towards the small lake in the forest that surrounded Nastè's home. A strong aura swept through the forest, causing him to lose his footing at the edge of ridge and sliding down its muddy, rocky side. Somehow Shin regained his footing and managed to land on his feet, lessening the impact with the ground. He looked up and saw a girl with long black hair dressed in a long green dress, a sword similar to Seiji's hilted on her side. When he blinked, the girl was facing him, her eyes glowing white, and the sword rose above her head. Before Shin could register what was going on, Seiji appeared in front of him, dressed in his sub armor, his own sword summed and blocking the attack, "Go!" Seiji told Shin, "Toma and Shu are right behind you."

Shin nodded, "Thanks, Seiji," He said before disappearing further into the forest. He regretted leaving Seiji, but to get to Mariko, Shin did not have any time to spare. Plus, if things were going the way he suspected, Seiji was the best one to handle Yoshidani-san.

Seiji pulled out his orb and transformed into his sub armor, "So, you're Yoshidani Haven-san?" He remarked as he fell into stance. He watched her expression flinch, but for the most part, it remained blank. Instead of responding to him, Yoshidani pulled out a smaller and thinner version of his sword from the hilt on her side, "If you're not Yoshidani-san, then just who are you?"

The girl clicked her tongue, "I am known as the guardian of the Korin armor," She stated, her guard remaining up, "If you are going to stop Inferno's guardian from resurrecting, you are part of the problem. Prepare yourself!" She charged towards him, keeping the perfect form of a high skilled kendoka.

Seiji dodged the strike just in time and quickly summoned his armor. He was not taking any chances, especially someone with as much skill as Yoshidani did. Seiji pulled out his sword and blocked another attack, "Wake up, Yoshidani-san!" He cried out, keeping his defense up against her onslaughts.

"You heard me, we will protect her!" Yoshidani responded, her sword aiming straight at Seiji's torso.

Seiji was just barely able to block the strike. He kept one hand on his sword while his other hand reached to her throat. The kanji of Grace appeared on his forehead, allowing Seiji to rely on it to stop this battle. The attack suddenly stopped and the glow faded from Yoshidani's eyes, "What's happened?" She looked up, her green eyes widening when she spotted Seiji, "What's going on? I was in practice when I froze and then a beam of green light surrounded me. Now, I'm here and wearing this," She turned around, the long pale green skirt flaring out around her long, slender legs, exposing up to her knees. Seiji had to quickly look away to avoid her seeing the surprised look on his face. She looked back up at Seiji, "What's going on? And what are you doing here, Date-san? Why in the world are you wearing that?"

"Honestly, I'm not sure what's going on," Seiji admitted, looking back at her after he was sure that he had regained his composure, "Everything's been crazy since Morimiea-san appeared. Camui-san had similar experience, and we have not found the other two."

Haven's eyes wondered, looking through the woods. Then, she remembered something. She grabbed Seiji's arm, "We have to get to the lake. I think I remember something big going to be happening down there that could affect everything!" She admitted, running as fast as she could in her bare feet, which was not very fast.

Seiji knew they could run faster, so he quickly scooped her up and picked up speed, heading towards the lake, "Do you remember what is going on down there?" He asked Haven, briefly looking down at her.

"No, unfortunately. Everything is a complete blur; all I remember is that I'm a guardian of some sort and that I'm supposed to lend my power to help resurrect this other, more powerful guardian," Haven's dark green eyes narrowed, "Now, do you want to tell me what you think is going on?"

Seiji shook his head, lifting his eyes back up to watch the path in front of them, "I wish I knew enough to tell you. Yagyu Nastè, our researcher and landlady, knows a lot about things dealing with these armors. I imagine that she's looking for information on what is exactly going on as we speak. I do know that Morimiea-san is up there with her and Ryo as well."

"Alana?" Haven looked away, ashamed of the long forgotten memories that she had been able to put out of her mind suddenly coming back. She and Mariko were the only two out of the five girls who remembered the events that had transpired a couple of years ago. The fact that maybe those soldiers were correct in assuming that there was some mystical power that remained dormant in all five girls ate at Haven's pride.

But, before Haven could continue to blame herself for ignoring the inevitable, the two of them had reached the lake. Three other armors lay broken and battered on the shores of the lake while three haunting figures hovered over the watery surface. Seiji almost dropped Haven in order to cover his ears to block the eerie chant that seemed to fill the air around them, "Date-san…" She breathed as she reached over to touch his forehead. The kanji of Grace appeared and, along with the notes from the chant, Haven's conscience was quickly overwhelmed. She turned and walked towards the figures, her feet just barely hovering over the lake.

The features of the other three figures turned into Camui Mariko, Jouji Yolei, and Tokiji Sora as Haven walked closer to them. She found her voice joining in with the mysterious chant as she locked hands with to complete the circle they had formed. The volume of their chant rose, calling out for the one they desired to appear amongst them. Seiji watched from his almost paralyzed state on the sand. He was able to turn his head just enough to see a brilliant white beam shooting up to the sky. It was then that Seiji realized that the light was coming from Nastè's house.

"Wh-what is going on?" Seiji managed, "Ryo…"

~*~End of Chapter 2~*~

* The Oft-Repeated Dream by Robert Frost.


End file.
